Pan American Games: Event Finals Day 1

The schedule for today begins with men’s floor, then the women will join for pommel horse and vault running simultaneously, then uneven bars and rings will run simultaneously.

Based on the timing (with the UB and SR finals slated to begin an hour and a half after the VT and PH finals), I’m assuming we’ll have some sort of mid-competition award ceremony break/resting period. Or, they just have a realistic impression of how long it’s going to take to come up with these damn scores.

In the women’s vault final, the fascinating storyline belongs to pre-meet favorite Shallon Olsen because she did not perform her full difficulty on the first day and qualified much lower than one would normally expect. Was that because she was keeping it safe and simple for the team/qualification? Or is that just the difficulty she feels comfortable competing right now? The answer to those questions will tell us whether she’s a medal favorite here or not. Black qualified in first by a solid margin and can win on execution even if Olsen upgrades, and she was followed in qualification by Ferrera then Dominici.

The big news is the withdrawal of Aleah Finnegan from today’s vault final. We don’t yet know the circumstances, just “injury.” This is particularly significant because it allows Marcia Vidiaux into the final. She was first alternate because of rough landings in qualification, but she should have the highest difficulty of anyone in the final and can medal if the landings are on today. It just got more challenging for the favorites, having Vidiaux in this final. She’s a real wildcard.

Also, the SEC Network is reshowing SEC Champs right up until event finals on ESPNU, so it’s basically just Shallon Olsen Day on the networks of ESPN. As was foretold.

But first, we’re going to be treated to the Tomas Gonzalez final. I mean the men’s floor final. Sadly, Jorge Vega missed this final. We didn’t see his routine on the qualification stream, but he had 0.4 ND, which will do it.

As usual we’re supposed to have B and K on ESPNU, and I’ll have the backup Spanish-language stream for when we miss some of it due to Cold Beach Volleyball or routines during commercials. Seems like there’s going to be a lot of cold beach volleyball.

Neff, followed by Corral, Martinez, and Gonzalez were the top qualifiers for the men’s floor final, and Corral is here. Maybe there was something to that “just resting” thing? ESPN Mexico yesterday said it was a shoulder injury. Could be both things.

Men’s Back-to-Back Flippies Final

Martinez – FX – double front 1/2 out, small slide back, chest a touch too low – excellent landing on double double tucked – and his 2.5 to lay 1/2 fourth pass – mostly sticking here – 3/1 with a small stagger. A couple sticks, the rest of the passes with minimal movement. Nice routine. And I appreciate a five-pass routine like this instead of six and one of them is a 2/1.

14.100

Zanetti – FX – pretty much nailed front double pike – front lay to double front is short, hop back – DLO 1/1, pretty nice form with that little hollow, bounce to the side though – 2.5 to front full – full in, larger bounce back – double arabian, short with a step back. Nothing HUGE, but not the control Martinez showed.

Also I will never again be able to watch him on floor without thinking of Kathy describing his run as a chassé.

13.733.

Nory – FX – double pike, short today, two steps back – front 2/1 to layout is gorgeous again today, small movement – 2.5 to front full, stuck – clean twisting form, controlled after that first landing – I enjoy that part of his routine has a tribute to when he won a medal in 2016 and was just a ball for a while – full in – bounce back.

Neff – FX – randi, small hop – 3.5 to front tuck full, another little hop – a little under on his front full out of the third pass but should be fine – double arabian, step back – 2/1, didn’t fall today on that, so a win – 3/1, step back. Bounces on most everything but nothing major. He should have one of the highest Ds in the final

14.166 puts him into first place. Nice recovery from yesterday. E score was lower than the three behind him, but he got it on D.

Gonzalez – FX – double front pike 1/2 out, only the smallest shuffle – holds the stick on his double front, just barely – double double stuck – a little hop on his rudi, which should have been his easiest landing so far – CHOREOGRAPHIC ARTISTRY – 2.5 to 1/2, stuck – 3/1, some leg form, medium lunge back. Very nice, and some big sticks in there. I mean, that’s my winner, obviously.

14.600. Well into first place, and well deserved. He thinks he has a 5.8 D, but he got 5.9, so winner winner?

And we’ve already started with Neff on horse. Couldn’t have managed to just alternate? Hit routine from Neff, moments of knees and legs on most elements, nothing major.

Pinto – VT 2 – Tsuk layout 1.5 attempt but enough tucking to put that into question, lunge sideward and out of the area.

13.466 for Neff. Interested if we missed something as I didn’t see the start of his routine.

So, you had vault and horse start at the same time and now a long wait on both? This isn’t complicated, guys.

13.750 average for Pinto.

Malone – PH – scissor travel mount – nice elevation over the horse on one pommel – has one hitch but keeps going – mostly smooth – some hip angle in these circles – legs really break on his cross-pommel travel but keeps it going – has to struggle a bit to get up to handstand on his dismount but gets there in one motion.

Vidiaux – VT 1 – Tsuk double twist with a large lunge to the left and off the mat entirely – mostly nice form in the air, only a little piking at the beginning and end and a touch of foot separation.

12.766 for Malone. They destroyed him for that break at the end.

Vidiaux – VT 2 – goes for the rudi but nope. Hands down. Really close to the table and well short of rotation.

Clay – PH – must have clipped the mic somehow on his scissor mount because I will be hearing that in my dreams, but fine – nice clean legs in all of his travel elements – it was going so well! But he hesitates in dismount and has to drop a little bit before getting it up to handstand. The interior was lovely.

Santi – VT 1 – nice DTY in the air, good height and fairly clean form, but she comes in rather short, chest well down and a hop forward

C Calvo – PH – scissors up to handstand, a touch clunky – between pommel Russians, fast, some hip angle position – nice clean owrk on the magyar and sivado – and he too struggles to get his dismount up to handstand with a pause and a muscle to try to keep it going. Gets there in the end.

Dominici – VT 1 – DTY, much better than in the AA final, a touch short with a small hop forward, but solidly done.

Dominici – VT 2 – ro 1/2 on pike 1/2 – knees throughout, some chest on landing and a hop to the side. Honestly, she should just post the layout instead of the pike version because her vault is not that different than a lot who claim to do it layout. You never know, you might trick them.

13.666 average puts her behind Pinto and into second place.

13.233 for Calvo puts him in 2nd.

Barretto – PH – scissor travel at the beginning a little clunky but worked out easily – loses his leg form a little in a Russian travel, and again in another – Russians into dismount. Good routine. He didn’t try to get up to handstand on his dismount, which seems to be the trick to hitting today.

Ferrera – VT 1 – huge DTY, a large lunge back but a better mistake, chest well up and got a ton of height – pretty solid form, just a bit of feet, they’ll still get her for the size of the lunge and the extra step after it though.

Ferrera – VT 2 – ro 1/2 on layout 1/2 – that version of the Lopez is pretty well laid out, not really proving my point here Yesenia. Just some piking at the end, the same large lunge back as on her first vault, but good showing.

13.533 for Barretto, which counts as a big score so far today.

Corral – PH – scissor up to handstand – such smooth work on one pommel and nice elevation – pretty clean straight positon through Magyar and Sivado but he loses his form completely on Russians and has to sit on the horse in protest.

Palacios – VT 1 – goes for a DTY, short with a lunge forward and OOB – quite a bit of knees in the air – it’s still a really useful vault for her to have in her quest for AA Olympic qualification at worlds this year, but it won’t score with the others.

Palacios – VT 2 – Tsuk 1.5, pretty nice – knees again but a fairly small hop, just a little shuffle to the side

Karstadt – PH – scissor work early on is pretty precise and then he loses it completely and flies sideways off the horse in a crab shape just like we always hope for in PH finals. Gets back on for a clean remainder of the set, but no one’s having a great time on PH today.

Palacios is nonetheless into 2nd on vault.

Black – VT 1 – hs front layout full, not quite as strong as yesterday, little hop back – otherwise the usual form – should still score pretty well – has the amplitude and a more comfortable landing than most vaults we’ve seen today. 14.500

Black – VT 2 – Tsuk layout 1.5 – basically stuck, just a little hop in place, a touch of knees, best vault of the final so far. Nicely done. Should have no trouble moving into first.

Moreto – PH – crappit, hits his leg on the pommel on a magyar and has to come off. His score from qualification would have been good enough to win this final. And…a second fall.

Well, this PH final has been really pommel horsey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Black into first on vault but not by as much margin as I would have expected over Ferrera.

Olsen – VT 1 – DTY – a bounce back but stronger than in qualification – good chest up position – definitely enough height – just those bits of leg and foot form.

14.400 means she needs to make up some ground on Black with this second vault.

Olsen – VT 2 – she has posted the Cheng – and she goes for it – and….not great but landed? Super far over with a large lunge forward, just avoids putting her knees down – basically has to tuck it at the end.

Still gets 13.966 for that second vault, which will give her a bronze.

Gold: Barretto, Silver: Neff, Bronze: Calvo

Gold: Black, Silver: Ferrera, Bronze: Olsen

That’s two golds out of two events for Black. #Simoneing

Olsen’s Cheng didn’t look ready yet. Probably should have just gone for the safer vault, but I’m also glad she upped the difficulty. Ferrera had some large landing errors on her vaults, but the direction was better and that basically counts as under control for her.

The pommel horse final was…not ideal.

ESPNU has been able to join the broadcast for…the medal ceremonies. Everyone is thrilled by how this is going.

Are we finally ready for the bars and rings finals?

Finally? Maybe? Ish?

Women’s Handstands and Men’s Strongies Finals

Introductions done. We actually get to see some routines? Weird. Like it’s gymnastics? I don’t understand.

Pedro – UB – Shap to pak, legs apart, a little close on catch – toe full to Maloney, gets it – connected to bail – to stalder shoot – very shoot handstand on high – nice amplitude on jaeger, flexed feet – toe 1/2 is well short of handstand, double tuck dismount, hop back. Fine, but won’t be a huge score. Too many handstand and form issues.

12.766.

De Luna – SR – pulls right up to planche, nicely done – lover to cross, good flat shoulder position – maltese, strong – tuck up to maltese – another solid cross – up to planche, just a tad of hesitation – 1.5-twist double tuck, hop to the side. Strong routine.

14.500. Good score.

Moors – UB – She’s in a bars final, you guys. Have I talked about that? Shap to pak, nice legs on Pak, small break on Shap – toe full, late – Van leeuwen with some legs – clear hip to Khorkina, some leg form in the air – toe pike 1/2 dismount, slide back. Good hit!

Two actual clear-hip Shaps in the first two routines, which is a skill we don’t see a lot.

13.000 for Moors. Two good bars hits in this competition for her.

Zanetti – SR – up to planche, strong – straddle planche, cmoothly help on both of course – flat maltese shape – Bart saw something on his Yamawaki Jonasson and I’m man enough to admit I have no idea what he saw – maltese right to cross – OOF totally loses shape in a handstand, full pike at the hips – DLO 1/1, hop back. Far from his strongest routine.

14.400 and behind De Luna.

Dammit I had the stream minimized during Magistrati’s bars routine and TV went to commercial. Fully missed it. Sorry about that. My bad.

It was a 12.200 for Magistrati and now everyone is just standing because of entertaining sport. We see a replay of her DLO, large stumble back on that.

Oliveira – UB – Maloney, very clean connected to a pak to VL, lost her feet a little on the VL but otherwise lovely combination – small pause in L grip giant full – piked Jaeger well done – one short hs on high on 1/2 turn – double front, some cowboy, pace forward. Feet throughout but pretty much her normal.

Dominici – UB – clear hip to Maloney to giant full to Ray to pak – huge combination and gets it with only minor breaks – Van Leeuwen, no trouble – piked jaeger, good distance from the bar – a little form casting out of it into a 1/2 turn – finishes double tuck with a hop back. Legs apart moments on a lot of things. Nothing much else.

13.433, second place

Molinari – SR – up to maltese – a little shaky, just a touch higher in his cross position than the top scorers – a little quick moving out of maltese into cross – has to bring the rings together a little on a handstand – DLO 1/1, a little pike and a little slide. I wouldn’t have that near the top Es, but a hit routine.

Wong – UB – inbar to inabr Shap to pak to Stalder shap 1/2 – lovely – short hs on high – toes 1/2 to jaeger, pretty smooth – saves a 1/2 turn hs on high bar, an arch but brings it back – DLO, stuck landing. That arch on the high bar was the main things, a couple other handstands, nothing major. Most dramatic performance goes to Al Fong’s arm gestures.

Lugo – SR – small hesitation in planche, a little lower – maltese is good – shaky in inverted cross – just not quite as secure in these strength holds and clear in the positions – nice cross – generates some swing on the pike into handstand – DLO 1/1 with a bounce back

14.300 for Wong puts her into first place.

McCusker – UB – stalder full to Maloney to tkatchev, good – Ricna to pak to Stalder shap 1/2, hit well, just a moment of legs, otherwise nice – dismount, just a bit short and a hop. Not quite at the level of her first routine but close. Very clean, pretty routine. Should win.

Souza – SR – Maltese to cross, nice – large hestiation in his straddle planche, nearly brings the rings together – cross is excelelnt – arch position in handstands – double double tuck, short with a bound forward. Not his strongest either. 14.066

14.533 for McCusker and an accurate 6.0 D score. Didn’t realize until it was just pointed out to me on twitter that the judges inaccurately gave her 6.1 on the first day. In qualification, two of McCusker’s D scores were a tenth too high.

Black – UB – toe Shap to Hindorff, close catch with some form – SHang, good – hop change to piked jaeger to pak, some legs – Shap 1/2, good – giant full, great vertical finish – small hop back on her toe tuck 1/2 dismount. Good, but wonder how much the close catch on the Hindorff will hit her.

14.000 for Black is enough to put her into 3rd place so that she can continued winning medals on every event.

13.833 for Cournoyer, clean routine but doesn’t have the difficulty.

Villafañe – SR – smooth opening maltese into cross, but has to lower a little on these crosses after hitting the initial position – has to control that handstand a little – pikes up into a maltese – struggling to hold that straddle planche and some form in the handstand – DLO 1/1, small slide back

So, that will do it for today’s finals.

Gold: McCusker, Silver: Wong, Bronze: Black

Four medals on four opportunities for Black. No surprise on the podium here, with McCusker and Wong having the cleanest and most difficult routines in the final when hitting.

Gold: De Luna, Silver: Zanetti, Bronze: Molinari

De Luna well deserved, clean and difficult and didn’t have the problems that Zanetti did. Molinari with the bronze, had a lot of E issues in there, kind of surprised he scored as high as he did, but Souza in 4th also had issues and Cournoyer doesn’t have the D despite getting the highest E of the final.

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17 thoughts on “Pan American Games: Event Finals Day 1”

In addition to Shallon not performing full difficulty, she also got creamed by the judges on execution on her DTY in the team competition. Which she performed to similar standards as she did at worlds and somehow scored 0.3 lower in spite of everyone else getting looser scores in execution compared to Worlds. It was odd. I can’t speak to her Lopez, which I haven’t found a video of.